REGINA -- It was minutes after the Winnipeg Blue Bombers did the improbable, winning a second straight Labour Day Classic, that defensive end Tom Canada found himself in an unfamiliar place: on the road and surrounded by delirious, inebriated, Bomber boosters.

"It was a little scary," the rookie said after outrunning a throng of fans, hurdling a sideline barricade and retreating to the safety of his Taylor Field locker-room. "I almost fell down and got mauled."

Actually, a mauling is more like what would have been waiting for Canada and his teammates back in Winnipeg had they fallen down against the Saskatchewan Roughriders Sunday.

LYNCH MOB

Let's face it, a 3-7 record had the lynch mob gathering at Portage and Main. A loss to the 'Riders, officially reducing this once-mighty Grey Cup contender to also-ran, would have turned the rest of the season into a competitive and financial disaster. Changes would have come, but not people.

Instead, the Bombers are suddenly a no-worse-than-even bet to make the playoffs, a gritty 17-4 victory tucked in their back pockets and 4-7 mark next to their names in the mild, mild CFL West.

But does it mean this team has turned a corner, that it's finally discovered a gear that'd been missing all season?

Some signs point in that direction, particularly the continuing story of a vastly improved defence.

No longer does playing the Bombers mean an automatic boost to a quarterback's offensive stats. You don't get whiplash anymore from watching opposing players run up and down the field, treating the Winnipeg secondary like a minor annoyance on the way to the end zone.

"This was real big," linebacker Maurice Kelly said. "We're right where we want to be."

Well, not quite. A losing record and tie for third place isn't exactly what they would have asked for prior to the season.

But coming off the week that was in Bomber-land, it certainly beats the alternative.

In case you hadn't noticed, the last seven days weren't exactly sunshine and roses.

An influx of new players, brought on by an offence that needed a map to find the end zone, created an atmosphere more conducive to late May than early September.

But a couple of scraps in practice is one thing. Bad publicity over a hazing incident and tension between management and injured quarterback Khari Jones over the wisdom of an early-week game of golf were others entirely.

This isn't the way you want to enter the loony bin that is the Labour Day game.

That the Bombers overcame all that adversity suggests they may have an underlying backbone that will come in handy when the leaves turn and frost is no longer a dirty word.

"There's no place harder to come in and play," said lineman Doug Brown, a veteran who's not used to losing. "Amped-up opposition, the fans -- expectations have got to be that we have to be pushing for playoff success."

SIMILAR MANUAL

His first-year running mate was reading from a similar manual.

"It's great motivation," Canada said. "We've got something to work for. We know we can play like this, so now we can't step back. This is what we should expect out of each other."

Which brings us to the cautionary portion of today's tale.

Go back 12 months and you'll find what looked to be an identical turning point.

Last season's Labour Day victory was probably the Bombers' best overall performance of 2003, and what did it get them? A 3-5 record down the stretch, including that home-field blowup against the same 'Riders in the playoffs.

"We can take a lot of things out of this game," linebacker Lamar McGriggs said Sunday.

And they can give them all back when you-know-who comes to town next weekend.